Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it her Department's policy to utilise frozen Libyan assets to compensate victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism.

Libyan assets were frozen under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 to prevent their misuse, with the aim of preserving them for the future benefit of the Libyan people. Therefore, these frozen assets cannot be used to compensate victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism. The UK Government has profound sympathy for victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism and all victims of the Troubles, and will continue to look for opportunities to press the Libyan authorities to address the Libyan State's historic responsibility.